Wall-mounted washing machine, detergent container of wall-mounted washing machine, and front panel of wall-mounted washing machine

ABSTRACT

Provided are a wall-mounted washing machine, a detergent container of a wall-mounted washing machine, and a front panel of a wall-mounted washing machine. The wall-mounted washing machine includes a rear panel; a tub for holding wash water; a drum rotatably installed in the tub; a front panel having an opening and installed on a front side of the tub; a cover on the front panel and covering the front panel; a detergent container drawn into the front panel from a front side of the cover or drawn out to the front side of the cover from the front panel and including a detergent input space accommodating detergent and a conditioner input space accommodating conditioner; and a door rotatably coupled to the cover to open or close a laundry inlet of the cover; wherein the detergent container includes a case forming the detergent input space and the conditioner input space; a cap coupled to an upper side of the case and including an inlet of the detergent input space and an inlet of the conditioner input space; and a front part coupled to a front surface of the case and providing a detergent container handle allowing a user to grip.

RELATED CASE

This patent application claims benefit to Korean Patent Application No.10-2017-0074636 filed Jun. 14, 2017, with inventor Jeong Hyeon Gim, andwhose specification is incorporated by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a wall-mounted washing machine, adetergent container of a wall-mounted washing machine, and a front panelof a wall-mounted washing machine.

BACKGROUND

A washing machine is an apparatus for separating contaminants fromwashed fabric (laundry) using wash water and detergent, wherein thecontaminants may be separated from the washed fabric by the chemicalaction of the detergent dissolved in the wash water and the mechanicalaction (agitation) of the wash water and an inner basket. Such washingmachines may be categorized into various types, including, a top loadingtype washing machine, a front loading type washing machine, and acombined type washing machine combined with the top loading type and thefront loading type, depending on the method of laundry loading.

In recent years, wall mounted washing machines have been introduced,which may be installed in narrow spaces such as bathrooms and toilets.In general, the wall mounted washing machines employ the front loadingtype for miniaturization.

For example, the wall mounted washing machine may include a cabinet thatforms an exterior of the device, a tub provided in the cabinet andoperable to be filled with wash water, a drum rotatably installed in thetub and accommodating the laundry, a drive unit providing power to thedrum for agitation, a water supply unit for supplying the wash water tothe tub, and a drain unit for discharging the wash water from the tub tothe outside of the cabinet.

In the related art of wall-mounted washing machines, a detergentcontainer accommodating detergent and a conditioner containeraccommodating conditioner are separately provided. Thus, for a washingcycle, a user draws out the detergent container from the washingmachine, supplies detergent, draws the detergent container into thewashing machine, draws out the conditioner container, suppliesconditioner, and subsequently draws the conditioner container into thewashing machine, thereby potentially causing user inconvenience with somany required steps.

In addition, in the related art, the detergent container is formed in arotationally opening/closing manner, making it difficult for the user todraw in and out the detergent container.

SUMMARY

In order to solve the above disadvantages, embodiments of the presentdisclosure provide a wall-mounted washing machine in which bothdetergent and conditioner are simultaneously supplied to a singledetergent container so that the detergent and the conditioner may besupplied by simply drawing in or out the detergent container only onetime. Embodiments of the present invention also pertain to a detergentcontainer of the wall-mounted washing machine, and a front panel of thewall-mounted washing machine.

Also, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a wall-mountedwashing machine in which a detergent container may be easily drawn inand out, a detergent container of the wall-mounted washing machine, anda front panel of the wall-mounted washing machine.

More specifically, one embodiment of the present invention is drawn to Awall-mounted washing machine, comprising: a rear panel operable to bewall-mounted; a tub disposed on a front surface of the rear panel andoperable to contain wash water; a drum rotatably disposed in the tub; afront panel having an opening and disposed on a front side of the tub; acover covering the front panel; a detergent container selectively drawninto the front panel from a front side of the cover and drawn out to thefront side of the cover from the front panel, wherein the detergentcontainer comprises a detergent input space for accommodating detergentand a conditioner input space for accommodating conditioner; a doorrotatably coupled to the cover to selectively open and close a laundryinlet of the cover; and a cabinet surrounding the tub, wherein: thedetergent container comprises: a case forming the detergent input spaceand the conditioner input space; a cap coupled to an upper side of thecase and comprising: an inlet of the detergent input space; and an inletof the conditioner input space; and a front part coupled to a frontsurface of the case and providing a handle. Embodiments include theabove and wherein the case comprises: a first part forming the detergentinput space; and a second part forming the conditioner input space,wherein the first part and the second part are partitioned by apartition and arranged in a horizontal direction.

Embodiments include the above and further comprising: a water supplyvalve assembly disposed in the front panel and operable to receive washwater from a water supply, wherein the front panel is provided with adetergent container receiving unit into which the detergent container isdrawn, and wherein further: a first fitting operable to provide washwater from the water supply valve assembly to the detergent input spaceand a second fitting operable to provide wash water from the watersupply valve assembly to the conditioner input space are connected to anupper side of the detergent container receiving unit. Embodimentsinclude the above and wherein: detergent introduced to the detergentinput space is dissolved in the wash water supplied through the firstfitting and discharged to an inner side of the tub through a firstoutlet formed on a bottom surface of the case, and conditionerintroduced to the conditioner input space is dissolved in the wash watersupplied through the second fitting and discharged to the inner side ofthe tub through a second outlet formed on the bottom surface of thecase.

Another embodiment of the present invention is drawn to a detergentcontainer of a wall-mounted washing machine to be drawn in or out from adetergent container receiving unit in a front panel of the wall-mountedwashing machine, the detergent container comprising: a case comprising afirst part in which a detergent input space is formed, a second part inwhich a conditioner input space is formed, and a partition partitioningthe first part and the second part; a cap coupled to an upper side ofthe case to cover portions of the first part and the second part andcomprising an inlet of the detergent input space and an inlet of theconditioner input space; and a front part coupled to a front surface ofthe case and comprising a handle. Embodiments include the above andfurther comprising: a first outlet disposed on a lower surface of thefirst part to discharge a detergent aqueous solution in which adetergent of the detergent input space is dissolved, to a tub; a secondoutlet disposed on a lower surface of the second part to discharge aconditioner aqueous solution in which a conditioner of the conditionerinput space is dissolved, to the tub; a first overflow part disposed ona rear surface of the first part to discharge a detergent aqueoussolution, which has not been discharged through the first outlet, to thetub; and a second overflow part disposed on a rear surface of the secondpart to discharge a conditioner aqueous solution, which has not beendischarged through the second outlet, to the tub.

Another embodiment of the present invention is drawn to a front panelcomprising a detergent container receiving unit for receiving thedetergent container according to the above description, wherein thefront panel is part of an assembly and wherein the assembly comprises: acover coupled to a front surface of the front panel; a detergentcontainer gasket tightly attached to a front part of the detergentcontainer and coupled to a front surface of the detergent containerreceiving unit; and a guide protrusion formed on an inner side surfaceof the detergent container receiving unit and inserted into a guiderecess formed on a side surface of the detergent container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent disclosure will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a wall mountedwashing machine according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which the door of FIG. 1 is opened.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the washing machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the washing machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration in which adetergent container is coupled to a cover and a front panel of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating the detergent container of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the detergent container ofFIG. 7;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the detergent container of FIG. 6,taken along line B-B′;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the detergent container of FIG. 6,taken along line C-C′;

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating a lower surface of the detergentcontainer of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating a side surface of the detergent containerof FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the cover and the front panelof FIG. 4;

FIG. 13 is a view illustrating a rear surface of the front panel of FIG.6;

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating a detergent container gasket according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a rear surface of the detergent containergasket of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a configuration in which the door,the cover, and the front panel of FIG. 4 are coupled, taken along lineA-A′; and

FIG. 17 is an enlarged view of the circle “D” of FIG. 16.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the drawings.

In addition, in the description of the present disclosure, the detaileddescription of known functions and configurations incorporated hereinwill be omitted if they would unnecessarily obscure the features of thesubject matter of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a wall mountedwashing machine according to an embodiment of the present disclosure,FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which the door of FIG. 1 is opened,FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the washing machine of FIG. 1, andFIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the washing machine of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a wall-mounted washing machine 10 accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a cabinet 100having a front surface and a rear surface opened and forming an outerappearance, a door 200 disposed on one side of the cabinet 100 and foropening or closing the opened front surface of the cabinet 100, a cover300 connected to the door 200 for opening and closing the door 200, afront panel 400 disposed on the rear surface of the cover 300, adetergent container 500 housed in one side of the front panel 400 andaccommodating detergent and conditioner, a drum 600 in which laundry isstored, a tub 700 which surrounds the drum 600 and is filled with washwater, and a rear panel 800 mounted on the wall. Here, the rear surfacemeans a surface close to the wall, and the front surface means a surfaceopposite to the rear surface.

Specifically, the cabinet 100 may be provided in an empty form. Also,the cabinet 100 may include a power button 102 for controlling a powersupply, a cover connection unit 104 connected to the cover 300, and arear panel connection unit 106 connected to the rear panel 800.

The power button 102 may be provided on one side of the cabinet 100 tocontrol whether the washing machine 10 is turned on or off. The powerbutton 102 may be provided on one side of the front surface of thecabinet 100 to be easily controlled by the user. Here, in thisembodiment, the power button 102 is provided on the lower surface of thefront surface of the cabinet 100. However, the position of the powerbutton 102 is not limited thereto, and may be provided on the left orright of the front surface of the cabinet 100, or on any suitablelocation for example.

In this embodiment, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the side of thewashing machine 10 in which the detergent container 500 is provided willbe referred to as an “upper side” and the side of the washing machine 10in which the power button 102 is provided will be referred to as a“lower side”. Also, a side of the washing machine 10 in which a dooropening button 210 is provided will be referred to as a “right side” anda side of the washing machine 10 in which a door hinge 360 is providedwill be referred to as a “left side”.

The cabinet 100 may include a cover connection unit 104 connected to thecover 300. The cover connection unit 104 may correspond to an edge ofthe opened front surface of the cabinet 100 and may have a smallerdiameter than the diameter of the cover 300 so that the cover 300 is notdetached from the cabinet 100. Specifically, the cover 300 may beinserted into the cabinet 100 from the rear surface to the front surfaceside. In this case, since the diameter of the cover connection unit 104is smaller than the diameter of the cover 300, the cover 300 may befitted into the cover connection unit 104, so that the cover 300 may notseparate from the cabinet 100.

The cabinet 100 may include a rear panel connecting unit 106 connectedto the rear panel 800. The rear panel connecting unit 106 may correspondto the opened rear edge of the cabinet 100 and may be have the sameshape of the rear panel 800. The cabinet 100 may be bolted to the rearpanel 800 and for this purpose, a plurality of bolt fastening holes maybe formed in the rear panel connecting portion 106

Meanwhile, the door 200 may be provided on the front surface of thecabinet 100. The door 200 is provided for loading and unloading laundry,and may include a door inner frame 230 and a door outer frame 240.Specifically, the door inner frame 230 and the door outer frame 240 maybe bolted to have a predetermined space therebetween, and each may havea circular shape with a diameter corresponding to the cover connectionunit 104. In this case, the door inner frame 230 may be in contact withthe cover connection unit 104, and the door inner frame 230 and the doorouter frame 240 may completely shield, e.g., protect, the cover 300connected to the cabinet 100.

The door inner frame 230 and the door outer frame 240 may include a doorhinge connection unit 232 for connecting with the cover 300. The doorhinge connecting unit 232 is disposed at one side of the door innerframe 230 and the door outer frame 240 and may provide a space foraccommodating a door hinge 360 of the cover 300 (to be described later).

A display 202 may be provided in a space located between the door innerframe 230 and the door outer frame 240. The display 202 is capable ofoutputting predetermined information to the user, and is provided with afront surface exposed to the outside of the door outer frame 240. Thatis, the door outer frame 240 may include a hole (not shown) or may beformed of a transparent material so that the display 202 may be exposedand viewable. In this case, the display 202 may be a touch panel capableof inputting or outputting information, and the user may confirm theinformation such as the operating state through the display 202, alsoinvoke an operation of the wall-mounted washing machine 10 via touchoperations. For example, the user may select a cycles such as laundrywashing and rinsing by performing a touch operation with respect to thedisplay 202, and confirm the remaining washing time or the like throughvisualization of the display 202.

The display 202 which is exposed to the exterior of the door outer frame240 and the door outer frame 240 may be protected through a protectiveglass 204. The protective glass 204 is transparently and disposed on thefront surface of the door outer frame 240 so that the user may visualizethe display 202. In this case, the protective glass 204 may have thesame diameter as the door inner frame 230 and the door outer frame 240.

A hole (not shown) may be provided on one side of the protective glass204, and the door opening button 210 may be exposed to the outsidethrough the hole (not shown). The door opening button 210 may beprovided in the door outer frame 240 for opening or closing the interiorof the cabinet 100 using an electronic opening and closing system andmay be exposed to the outside through a hole of the protective glass204.

In addition, the door 200 may include a door opening unit 250 and a doorhanging unit 260. The door opening unit 250 and the door hanging unit260 may protrude rearward of the door inner frame 230 and may be incontact with and engaged with one side of the cover 300. Specifically,the door opening unit 250 serves as an opening/closing assistant and mayhave an elastic force. For example, the door opening unit 250 mayinclude a spring and may act as a force support for opening the door 200through the elastic force of the spring. For example, when the door 200is closed, the door opening unit 250 may be compressed and inserted intoa groove (not shown) provided on one side of the cover 300. When theuser operates the door opening button 210 to open the door 200, the dooropening unit 250 may release from one side of the cover 300, and may bein contact with the bottom surface of the groove (not shown) provided onone side of the cover 300 in a relaxed state. That is, a space isprovided between the door 200 and the cover 300 by the relaxed length ofthe door opening unit 250, thereby preventing the door 200 from beingautomatically closed.

The door opening unit 250 may be a pusher stem assembly that may besupported by the spring and located within a guide structure formed inthe door inner frame 230 to repeatedly perform projecting by a linearmovement to a predetermined stroke range.

The door hanging unit 260 may be disposed at a predetermined distancefrom the door opening unit 250 and may have the shape of a hookpartially protruding from the door inner frame 230. The protrudingportion of the door hanging unit 260 may be coupled to a door lock unit330 of the cover 300 (to be described later), and thus the door 200 maybe closed securely.

In summary, the door 200 according to one embodiment of the presentdisclosure may be opened through a door opening button 210. When theuser operates the door opening button 210, the door opening unit 250 andthe door hanging unit 260 may be released from the cover 300 so that thedoor 200 may open the cover 300. In this case, the door opening unit 250having an elastic force may be relaxed and disposed on one side of thecover 300, and thus a predetermined gap is provided between the door 200and the cover 300. Therefore the door 200 may be prevented from closing.

In addition, the user may close the door 200 by applying pressure to thedoor 200 toward the cover 300 side. To this end, the user may press oneside of the outermost protective glass 204 of the door 200 therebycompressing the door opening unit 250 and pushed in the groove (notshown) of the cover 300 and the protruding portion of the door hangingunit 260 may be coupled to the door hanging unit 330 of the cover 300.That is, the door 200 may be opened and closed without using a separatehandle.

A center side of the door inner frame 230 and the door outer frame 240may be opened and the door glass 280 may be provided at the openedcenter side. The door glass 280 is provided for user visualization ofthe laundry inside the washing machine 10 from the outside of thewashing machine 10 and may be fitted to the door inner frame 230 and thedoor outer frame 240. In this case, the door glass 280 may be formed toprotrude rearward, and the protruded side of the door glass 280 may befitted to the opened side of the cover 300.

Meanwhile, the door 200 may be rotatably connected to the cover 300. Thecover 300 is provided to enclose the front panel 400 and may include alaundry inlet 302 for loading laundry, a detergent container loadingport 304 for loading a detergent container 500, and a power processingunit 306 for controlling the button 102.

The user may load laundry through the laundry inlet 302. The laundryinlet 302 may have a predetermined diameter. In this case, the diameterof the laundry inlet 302 may correspond to the size of the protrudingportion of the door glass 280. Thus, when the door 200 is closed, thedoor glass 280 may block the laundry inlet 302, and when the user opensthe door 200, the door glass 280 is released from the laundry inlet 302so that the laundry loading through the laundry inlet 302 may bepossible.

A detergent container loading port 304, which may load the detergentcontainer 500, may be disposed on the upper side of the laundry inlet302. In this case, the detergent container loading port 304 may beformed to correspond to the shape of the detergent container 500.

The cover 300 may have a laundry inlet 302 at its center and may have acircular shape as a whole. Further, the cover 300 may have a shape inwhich one side protrudes downward. In this case, the power processingunit 306 may be disposed in a protruding portion downward. The powerprocessing unit 306 may be a PCB substrate connected to the power button102 to control whether the power is turned on or off according to theoperation of the power button 102 protruding from the outside of thecase 100.

The cover 300 may include a door hanging unit 330 at a positioncorresponding to the other door hanging unit 260. The door hanging unit330 is coupled to the hook-shaped door hanging unit 260 and may be agroove corresponding to the shape of the door hanging unit 260. Thus, asthe door hanging unit 260 is coupled to the door hanging unit 330, sothat the door 200 may close the laundry inlet 302.

Also, the cover 300 may include a door hinge 360 disposed at a locationcorresponding to the door hinge connection unit 232. The door hinge 360may be provided to be opened while one side of the door 200 and one sideof the cover 300 may be connected to each other, and the one side of thedoor hinge 360 may be received in the door hinge connection unit 232.Specifically, the door hinge 360 may have a shape of a long curved panelin a vertical direction on one side of the laundry inlet 302, and maypartially protrude forward such that the door 200 may be rotated andconnected to the door hinge connection unit 232. That is, the door 200may be rotatable along the protruding portion in front of the door hinge360.

A front panel 400 may be provided on the rear surface of the cover 300.The front panel 400 may be coupled to the tub 700 and may include ashield unit 410 shielding a space between the drum 600 and the tub 700,a detergent container receiving unit 420 receiving the detergentcontainer 500, a detergent container gasket 430 provided to seal at aportion coupled with the detergent container 500, a fitting 440 forsupplying water into the detergent container 500, a door gasket 450provided to seal at a portion in contacted with the door 200, and awater supply valve assembly 480 for receiving wash water from anexternal water supplying source.

The shield unit 410 may shield a space formed between the drum 600 andthe tub 700 and may have a shape corresponding to the cover 300. Thatis, it may have the same diameter as the cover 300 and have an openingcorresponding to the laundry inlet 302 provided on the center sidethereof. In this connection, the opening of the shield unit 410 may besmaller than the diameter of the drum 600, so that the space between thedrum 600 and the tub 700 may be shielded.

The detergent container receiving unit 420 may be disposed at one sideof the shield unit 410 to receive the detergent container 500. Thedetergent container receiving unit 420 may be provided in a shapecorresponding to the detergent container 500 and may be communicatedwith the detergent container loading port 304 of the cover 300. That is,the detergent container 500 may be received in the detergent containerreceiving unit 420 via the detergent container loading port 304 of thecover 300.

The detergent container receiving unit 420 may include a detergentcontainer gasket 430 that is pressurized by the detergent container 500.The detergent container gasket 430 may be disposed around the end of thedetergent container receiving unit 420 to seal the detergent container500 and may be provided as a rubber material. That is, the detergents,the conditioners, and the wash water supplied to the detergent container500 are prevented from leaking to the outside through the detergentcontainer gasket 430.

At least one fitting 440 may be provided on the top of the detergentcontainer receiving unit 420. The fitting 440, which is connected to awater supply valve assembly 480 connected to an external water supplysource, may supply the wash water into the detergent container 500.Thus, the wash water supplied to the drum 600 and the tub 700 includesthe dissolved detergents or conditioners as a result of the wash waterbeing supplied into the drum 600 and the tub 700 through the detergentcontainer 500.

The opening of the shield unit 410 may include a door gasket 450 whichis pressed against a door glass 280 of the door 200. The door gasket 450may be disposed at the opening end of the shield unit 410 (for example,at the annular end of the opening) to hermetically fix the door glass280, and it may be composed of a rubber material or the like. Thus, whenthe door 200 is closed, the door glass 280 penetrating the laundry inlet302 of the cover 300 presses against the door gasket 450, and therebythe wash water inside the drum 600 and the tub 700 is prevented fromleaking outside the door 200.

The fitting 440 may be supplied with wash water through a water supplyvalve assembly 480. The water supply valve assembly 480 may be connectedto an external water supply source and may selectively supply the washwater to the detergent container 550 through the fitting 440. The watersupply valve assembly 480 may be a three-way valve and two of the supplyflow paths extending from the water supply valve assembly 480 may beconnected to the fitting 440 connected to the detergent container 500and one of them may supply the wash water to the drum 600 directlythrough the door gasket 450.

The detergent container 500 may accommodate detergent and conditionerand may include a detergent container handle 502, a detergent inputspace 504 in which detergents are loaded, and a conditioner input space506 in which a conditioner is loaded.

The detergent container handle 502 may protrude forward and may beexposed to the outside of the cover 300. The user thus may grasp thedetergent container handle 502 after opening the door 200, allowing thedetergent container 500 to be unloaded or inserted from the detergentcontainer receiving unit 420. In this embodiment, although the detergentcontainer handle 502 is extended in the vertical direction and providedat the center of the front surface of the detergent container 500, thedetergent container handle 502 is not limited to this orientation. Forexample, the detergent container receiving unit 420 may be extended inthe horizontal direction and provided on the front surface of thedetergent container 500.

The detergent container 500 may be partitioned based on the center ofthe interior and include a detergent input space 504 and a conditionerinput space 506 for storing detergents and conditioners, respectively.Here, the fitting 440 may be disposed to correspond to each of thedetergent input space 504 and the conditioner input space 506. Indetail, the fitting 440 may include a first fitting 440 a providing washwater from the water supply valve assembly 480 to the detergent inputspace 504 and a second fitting 440 b providing wash water from the watersupply valve assembly 480 to the conditioner input space 506. The firstfitting 440 a and the second fitting 440 b may be disposed such thatwash water dropped from the first fitting 440 a and the second fitting440 b are dropped to a central portion of the detergent input space 504and the conditioner input space 506. Accordingly, the detergent and theconditioner of the detergent input space 504 and the conditioner inputspace 506 may selectively receive wash water. Specifically, the user maydraw the detergent container 500 from the detergent container receivingunit 420 after opening the door 200 and may fill detergent andconditioner into the detergent input space 504 and the conditioner inputspace 506, respectively. The detergent container 500 filled with thedetergent and the conditioner may be inserted again into the detergentcontainer receiving unit 420, and depending on the washing process, thedetergent input space 504 and the conditioner input space 506 may besupplied with the wash water. Accordingly, the wash water includingmixed detergent or conditioner may be selectively supplied to the drum600 and the tub 700.

Meanwhile, the front panel 400 may be connected to the drum 600. Thedrum 600 for receiving laundry may include a drum inlet 610 on the frontsurface and a spider 680 on the rear surface. In this case, a pluralityof holes for fluid communication with the tub 700 may be formed aroundthe drum 600.

A drum inlet portion 610 may be provided to correspond to the openedportion of the shield unit 410. In this connection, the drum inletportion 610 may have a diameter smaller than the entire diameter of thedrum 600, and the drum inlet portion 610 may be fitted into the openedportion of the shield unit 410, so that front panel 400 and the drum 600may be connected to each other. Thus, laundry may be loaded into thedrum 600 via the laundry inlet 302 of the cover 300 and the openedportion of the front panel 400.

The drum 600 may be rotated through a spider 680 device. The spider 680may rotate in response to a driving force of a driving motor 910 to bedescribed later. The spider 680 may be provided separately from the drum600 and coupled to the rear surface of the drum 600. In this case, agroove corresponding to the shape of the spider 680 may be formed on therear surface of the drum 600 so that the spider 680 may be seated.

The spider 680 may include a plurality of arms extending in differentdirections with a constant gap at the center. For example, the spider680 may include an arm extending in three directions by a lengthcorresponding to the radius of the drum 600, and each arm may bedisposed at a 120-degree gap. Further, the center of the spider 680 maybe fixed to a second pulley 914 (to be described later) through a drumrotation axis 916 (to be described later), and thus the drum 600 coupledto the spider 680 and the spider 680 may be rotated. A specific methodof rotating the drum 600 will be described later.

A tub 700 in which the wash water is filled may be provided outside thedrum 600. The tub 700 may have a shape corresponding to the drum 600 andmay be formed to have a diameter larger than a diameter of the drum 600by a predetermined length. Accordingly, the tub 700 may be arrangedapart from the drum 600 by a predetermined gap. In addition, the washwater supplied into the tub 700 may flow into the drum 600 through aplurality of holes formed around the drum 600. Similarly, the inner washwater of the drum 600 may flow into the tub 700 through the plurality ofholes formed around the drum 600. In this regard, the drum 600 and thetub 700 may be provided in a cylindrical shape, but are not limitedthereto.

Further, the tub 700 may include a heater 702 to heat the wash water.Specifically, a groove may be formed on the inner side of the tub 700 toreceive the heater 702, and the heater 702 may be provided on the innerside of the tub 700 in a detachable manner. Thus, the heater 702 mayheat the wash water filled in the tub 700.

Meanwhile, the tub 700 may be integrally provided with a rear panel 800.The rear panel 800 may be mounted on the wall and may include an anchorconnection unit 802 to which an anchor for connecting to the wall isconnected, a cabinet fixing unit 804 for fixing the cabinet 100, and asensor 806 for detecting the water level.

Specifically, the tub 700 and the rear panel 800 may be integrallyinjection molded, and the tub 700 may protrude from the front of therear panel 800. The rear surface of the rear panel 800 may be mounted onthe wall via a separate anchor. The anchor may be coupled to the wall(or other vertical surface) through an anchor connection unit 802 andmay be provided on the rear surface of the rear panel 800 for stableengagement. That is, the plurality of anchors may mount the rear panel800 on the wall. In this case, since the tub 700 and the rear panel 800are integrally provided, a separate damper or an elastic member forsupporting the tub 700 is not required. Consequently, the number ofparts may be reduced, and the size of the washing machine 10 may bereduced.

The cabinet 100 may be coupled to the front surface of the rear panel800 where the tub 700 is provided to enclose the tub 700. In this case,a cabinet fixing unit 804 may have a stepped shape along the peripheryof the rear panel 800, and the cabinet 100 may be fixed to the cabinetfixing unit 804. For this purpose, a fastening member such as a bolt maybe used.

Also, the rear panel 800 may include a control unit 810 for controllingthe overall functions of the wall mounted washing machine 10 and a drainunit 820 for discharging the wash water filled in the tub 700.

The control unit 810 may be disposed on the front surface of the rearpanel 800 to control various components of the wall mounted washingmachine 10 depending on a user's operation to perform laundry washing.In this embodiment, while the control unit 810 is shown on the rightside of the respect to tub 700, the position of the control unit 810 isnot limited thereto.

A power supply line 904 may be connected to the external power source tosupply power to the electric equipment, the control unit 810, thedriving motor 910, and the like described above. The power supply line904 may extend through the rear panel 800 to the front of the rear panel800 and may extend outwardly from the rear of the rear panel 800. Inthis case, the power supply line 904 may be fixed to the rear surface ofthe rear panel 800 through a separate fixing means. As the power supplyline 904 is provided extending outwardly from the rear surface of therear panel 800, the appearance of the washing machine 10 is improved.

The drain unit 820 may be disposed under the rear panel 800. The drainunit 820 may discharge the wash water inside the tub 700 to the outsideand may be provided on the lower surface of the front surface of therear panel 800. In this case, the drain unit 820 may include a drainpump for pressurizing the wash water and may be connected to the drainhose 902 to discharge the wash water. Specifically, the drain hose 902is connected to the drain unit 820 and extends outward along the rearsurface of the rear panel 800, so that the wash water may flow under thepressure of the drain unit 820. Thus, when the drain unit 820 isoperated after the washing cycle is completed, the wash water can bedischarged to the outside of the cabinet 100 through the drain hose 902due to the pressure change of the drain unit 820.

The rear panel 800 may include a driving motor 910 for transmitting adriving force to the rear panel 800, a first pulley 912 and a secondpulley 914 connected to the driving motor 910, a drum rotational shaft916 connected to the second pulley 914 to rotate the drum 600, and abelt 918 that connects the first pulley 912 and the second pulley 914.

Specifically, the driving motor 910 may be provided on the front surfaceof the rear panel 800. The driving motor 910 may be controlled by thecontrol unit 810 and may be provided on one side of the control unit 810and the drain unit 820.

Also, the driving motor 910 may be connected to the first pulley 912. Inthis case, the shaft (not shown) of the driving motor 910 may beprovided through the rear panel 800 and may be connected with a shaft(not shown) of the driving motor 910 the first pulley 912 at the rearsurface of the rear panel 800.

The first pulley 912 may be connected to the second pulley 914 via abelt 918. The second pulley 914 may be provided to surround the drumrotation shaft 916 connected to the spider 680 and the drum rotationaxis 916 may penetrate the rear panel 800 while being connected to thespider 680. That is, the second pulley 914 and the drum rotation shaft916 may be connected to each other at the rear surface of the rear panel800.

In summary, when the wash water is filled in the tub 700 through thefitting 440, the control unit 810 may operate the driving motor 910.Subsequently, the first pulley 912 connected to the driving motor 910may be rotated, and the second pulley 914 may be then rotated by therotation of the first pulley 912. Thus, the drum rotation shaft 916connected to the second pulley 914 may also rotate so that the drum 600may be rotated inside the cabinet 100 and the tub 700. Consequently, thelaundry inside the drum 600 may be washed.

On the other hand, the rear panel 800 may further include an exhaustline 920. The exhaust line 920 may be connected to the drain unit 820and may exhaust air inside the tub 700 and the drain unit 820.Specifically, the exhaust line 920 may be connected to the drain hose902 and pass through the rear panel 800, through which it may extend tothe rear surface of the rear panel 800 and exhaust to the outside.

The wall-mounted washing machine 10 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure may be used as follows.

First, the user may open the door 200, and may load the laundry insidethe drum 600 and unload the detergent container 500 from the front panel400. In this case, the detergent container 500 is divided in the center,so that a space for loading detergent and conditioner, respectively, maybe provided.

After inserting the detergent container 500 loaded with detergent andconditioner back into the front panel 400, the user may close the door200 and control the laundry operation via the power button 102 and thedisplay 202. When the washing operation is started, the wash waterprovided from an external water supplying source through the watersupply valve assembly 480 may be supplied to the detergent container 500through the fitting 440, and the wash water may be supplied into thedrum 600 and tub 700 after passing the detergent input space 504 and theconditioner input space 506. That is, the wash water filled in the drum600 and the tub 700 may optionally include detergent and conditioner.

When the tub 700 is fully filed with the wash water, the control unit810 may drive the driving motor 910. In this case, the driving motor 910may be connected to the first pulley 912 and the second pulley 914, andthe second pulley 914 may be connected to the drum 600 through the drumrotation shaft 916. Thus, the drum 600 may be rotated through thedriving motor 910. Consequently, the laundry loaded in the drum 600 maybe easily washed by the rotation of the drum 600.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration in which adetergent container is coupled to a cover and a front panel of FIG. 4,FIG. 6 is a view illustrating the detergent container of FIG. 4, FIG. 7is an exploded perspective view of the detergent container of FIG. 7,FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the detergent container of FIG. 6,taken along line B-B′, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the detergentcontainer of FIG. 6, taken along line C-C′, FIG. 10 is a viewillustrating a lower surface of the detergent container of FIG. 6, andFIG. 11 is a view illustrating a side surface of the detergent containerof FIG. 7.

Referring to FIGS. 5 to 11, the detergent container 500 may be drawninto or out from the detergent container loading port 304 disposed onthe cover 300 and the detergent container receiving unit 420 disposed onthe front panel 400.

The detergent container 500 may include a front part 510 having adetergent container handle 502, a case 530 forming the detergent inputspace 504 and the conditioner input space 506, and a cap 550 includingan inlet 503 of the detergent input space 504 and an inlet 505 of theconditioner input space 506.

The front part 510 may provide the detergent container handle 502 onwhich a user may grip. The front part 510 may be drawn into thedetergent container loading port 304 of the cover 300 to form a portionof a front surface of the cover 300. Accordingly, the front part 510 maybe formed to correspond to a shape of the front surface of the cover300. For example, when a bent part is formed on the cover 300, the frontpart 510 may have a bent part 5102 corresponding thereto.

Also, when the front part 510 is viewed from the front, the front part510 may have a circular arc shape corresponding to a circumferentialdirection of the cover 300.

Also, a case insertion part 513 (see FIG. 17) may be provided on a rearsurface of the front part 510 to allow the case 530 to be coupledthereto. Details of the case insertion part 513 will be describedhereinafter with reference to FIG. 17. The front part 510 may be coupledto the front surface of the case 530. The front part 510 may have anarea larger than the front surface of the case 530.

The case 530 may include a first part 533 and a second part 535partitioned by the partition 531 in a horizontal direction. The firstpart 533 may form the detergent input space 504 and the second part 535may form the conditioner input space 506.

The cap 550 may be coupled to the top of the case 530 to cover portionsof the first part 533 and the second part 535 and includes the inlet 503of the detergent input space 504 and the inlet 505 of the conditionerinput space 506. Also, the cap 550 may include an anti-scattering part551 disposed above the partition 531 to shield portions of the detergentinput space 504 and the conditioner input space 506. Here, the inlets503 and 505 of the cap 550 may refer to openings on both bottom parts ofthe cap 550 with respect to the anti-scattering part 551.

The anti-scattering part 551 may include a central part 5512, a firstblocking film 5514, and a second blocking film 5516. The central part5512 of the anti-scattering part 551 is coupled to, and supported by,the partition 531 and may be coupled to an upper end portion of thepartition 531. The first blocking film 5514 of the anti-scattering part551 may extend from the central part 5512 toward the first part 533 andshield a portion of the detergent input space 504. The second shieldingfilm 5516 of the anti-scattering part 551 may extend from the centralpart 5512 toward the second part 536 and shield a portion of theconditioner input space 5060.

The first blocking film 5514 and the second blocking film 5516 mayextend from the central part 5512 toward the detergent input space 504and the conditioner input space 506 and may be sloped toward an outerside. That is, the first blocking film 5514 and the second blocking film5516 may have a reversed V-shape with the center part 5512 as a vertex.The anti-scattering part 551 may prevent wash water supplied to thedetergent input space 504 and the conditioner input space 506 from beingscattered by the first fitting 440 a and the second fitting 440 b,respectively. In detail, the wash water supplied from the first fitting440 a to the detergent input space 504 may be scattered, while bumpingagainst the bottom surface of the case 530, and, in this case, the washwater to be scattered from the detergent input space 504 may collidewith an inner surface of the first blocking film 5514, thus beingprevented from scattering to the outside of the detergent input space504. In addition, the first blocking film 5514 may prevent the washwater scattered from the detergent input space 504 from overflowing tothe conditioner input space 506.

Here, wash water in which the detergent is dissolved may be referred toas a detergent aqueous solution, and wash water in which the conditioneris dissolved may be referred to as a conditioner aqueous solution.

That is, the problem is thus prevented in which the detergent aqueoussolution is mixed with the conditioner aqueous solution in theconditioner input space 506 and discharged to the tub 700. Like thefirst blocking film 5514, the second blocking film 5516 may prevent washwater supplied to the conditioner input space 506 from scattering.

However, in this embodiment, it is described that the anti-scatteringpart 551 is integrally formed with the cap 550, but the presentinvention is not limited thereto. For example, in case where theanti-scattering part 551 is formed to be separate from (not shown) fromthe cap 550, the first blocking film 5514 and the second blocking film5516 of the anti-scattering part 551 may be rotatably supported at anupper end of the partition 531.

In this case, the first blocking film 5514 may rotate at the centralpart 5512 to selectively shield a portion of the detergent input space504. For example, the first blocking film 5514 may block the detergentinput space 504 in a state of being perpendicular to the partition 531,or the first blocking film 5514 may descend to be parallel with thepartition 531 to open the detergent input space 504. Similarly, thesecond blocking film 5516 may selectively shield a portion of theconditioner input space 506.

The detergent container 500 may include a first siphon section S1discharging the detergent aqueous solution generated as the detergent isdissolved in wash water to the tub 700 and a second siphon section S2discharging the conditioner aqueous solution generated as theconditioner is dissolved in wash water to the tub 700, by coupling ofthe case 530 and the cap 550. Also, the detergent container 500 mayinclude a first overflow part 5337 discharging the detergent aqueoussolution, which has not been discharged yet through the first siphonsection S1, to the outside of the detergent container 500 and a secondoverflow part 5357 discharging the detergent aqueous solution 500, whichhas not been discharged yet through the second siphon section S2, to theoutside of the detergent container 500. Here, the first siphon sectionS1 and the first overflow part 5337 may be provided in the first part533, and the second siphon section S2 and the second overflow part 5357may be provided in the second part 535.

First, according to the description of the present embodiment andclaims, the first overflow part 5337 and the second overflow part 5357may mean or refer to an overflow recess integrally formed in the case530, or a first overflow hole or a second overflow hole in a case wherean upper opening of the recess is blocked by the cap 550.

Also, the first siphon section S1 includes a first siphon guide recess5331 formed in a shape depressed downwards from a bottom surface of thefirst part 533 of the case 530, a first outlet 5332 discharging thedetergent aqueous solution from the first siphon guide recess 5331, anda first column 5333 communicating with the first outlet 5352, protrudingupwards from the first siphon guide recess 5331 by a predeterminedheight, and having a hollow shape to allow the detergent aqueoussolution introduced to the upper side to be discharged to the firstoutlet 5352.

The first siphon section S1 may include a first cover 553 formed in thecap 550 and covering the first column 5333. Here, an inner surface ofthe first cover 553 covers the first column 5333 such that a space ismaintained between the inner surface of the first cover 553 and an outercircumferential surface of the first column 5333 and an upper endportion of the first column 5333. Here, a lower end portion of the firstcover 553 may be disposed to be spaced apart from the first siphon guiderecess 5331 by a predetermined height in the vicinity of a lower endportion of the first column 5333.

The first cover 553 may be connected to the left and rear surfaces ofthe cap 550 with respect to the detergent input space 504.

A plurality of first engaging ribs 5334 may protrude from an outercircumferential surface of the first column 5333 so that when the firstcover 553 is fit to the first column 5333, the first engaging ribs 5334may be tightly attached to an inner circumferential surface of the firstcover 533 and the first cover 553 may be interference-fit to the firstcolumn 5333. The first engaging ribs 5334 may be space maintainingmechanisms.

Here, the first engaging ribs 5334 may be formed in such a number thatthey do not interfere with the siphon effect in the first siphon sectionS1. For example, three first engaging ribs 5334 may protrude from thefirst column 5333.

The first siphon section S1 may be formed on the left and rear surfacesof the detergent input space 504. The first siphon section S1 maydischarge the detergent aqueous solution in the detergent input space504 to the tub 700 through the first outlet 5352 using a pressuredifference. In detail, wash water is supplied to the detergent inputspace 504 by the first fitting 440 a and mixed with a detergent thereinto form a detergent aqueous solution. Here, the first fitting 440 a isconnected to the detergent container receiving unit 420 to supply washwater and is disposed above the space between the first siphon sectionS1 and the partition 531.

Atmospheric pressure acts on a surface of the detergent aqueous solutionin the detergent input space 504 to press a surface of the detergentaqueous solution. The detergent aqueous solution, which is subject toatmospheric pressure, gradually fills between the first column 5333 andthe first cover 553 through the first siphon guide recess 5331. Thedetergent aqueous solution flowing into the space between the firstcolumn 5333 and the first cover 553 may reach the top of the spacebetween the first column 5333 and the first cover 553, flow over thefirst column 5333, and may subsequently be discharged to a firstdischarge port 5332 through a hollow volume formed in the first column5333 due to gravity. The detergent aqueous solution may be discharged tothe tub 700 by the first siphon section S1.

Similarly, the second siphon section S2 includes a second siphon guiderecess 5351 formed to be depressed downwards from a bottom surface ofthe second part 535 of the case 530, a hollow second column 5353communicating with the second outlet 5352 and protruding upwards fromthe second siphon guide recess 5351 by a predetermined height.

The second siphon section S2 may include a second cover 555 formed inthe cap 550 and covering the second column 5353. Here, an inner surfaceof the second cover 555 covers the second column 5353 such that a spaceis maintained between the inner surface of the second cover 555 and anouter circumferential surface of the second column 5353 and an upper endportion of the second column 5353. Here, a lower end portion of thesecond cover 555 may be disposed to be spaced apart from the secondsiphon guide recess 5351 by a predetermined height in the vicinity of alower end portion of the second column 5353.

The second cover 555 may be connected to the right and rear surfaces ofthe cap 550 with respect to the conditioner input space 506.

Also, a plurality of second engaging ribs 5354 may protrude from anouter circumferential surface of the second column 535 such that thesecond cover 555 may be interference-fit to the second column 5353.

The second siphon section S2 may perform water supply and discharge withrespect to the same principle as that of the first siphon section S1described above. That is, wash water supplied from the second fitting440 b disposed above the space between the second siphon section S2 andthe partition 531 or the conditioner aqueous solution accommodated inthe conditioner input space 506 may be discharged to the tub 700 throughthe second outlet 5352 on the same principle as that of the first siphonsection S1.

The cap 550 may include a first maximum water level indicator 557 and asecond maximum water level indicator 558 respectively connected to thefirst cover 553 and the second cover 555 to indicate a maximum level.

The first maximum water level indicator 557 may be formed on the inlet503 side of the detergent input space 504 and indicates a maximum valueof an amount of detergent to be input by the user. Here, the firstmaximum water level indicator 557 may be formed at a position closer tothe bottom surface of the case 530 than to an upper surface of the firstcover 553 forming the first siphon section S1.

The second maximum water level indicator 558 may be formed on the inlet505 side of the conditioner input space 506 to indicate a maximum valueof an amount of a conditioner input by the user. The second maximumwater level indicator 558 may also be formed to be closer to the bottomsurface of the case 530 than to an upper surface of the second cover555.

The first overflow part 5337 is provided on a rear surface of the firstpart 533 to discharge the detergent aqueous solution, which has not beendischarged yet to the tub 700 through the first outlet 5332 of the firstsiphon section S1, to the tub 700. The first overflow part 5337 may beformed as an upper opening of the first overflow part 5337 formed in thecase 530 and is blocked by the cap 550. The first overflow part 5337 maybe disposed on a direct rear side of the first siphon section S1, whichis away from the anti-scattering part 551 and a lowermost end portion ofthe first overflow part 5337 may be disposed to be higher than a heightof an upper surface of the first column 5333. For example, the lowermostend portion of the first overflow part 5337 and the upper surface of thefirst column 5333 (on which the principle of the siphon is applied) mayhave a difference in height therebetween of approximately 2 mm.

Drainage of the first overflow part 5337 may start after drainage of thefirst siphon section S1. That is, wash water with the detergentdissolved therein is discharged first through the first siphon sectionS1 and, in case where a supply amount of wash water is greater than adischarge amount of wash water discharged through the first siphonsection S1, the detergent aqueous solution which has not been dischargedthrough the first siphon section S1 may be discharged through the firstoverflow part 5337.

The second overflow part 5357 may discharge the conditioner aqueoussolution, which has not been discharged through the second part 535, tothe tub 700. The second overflow part 5357 may be formed as an upperopening of the second overflow portion 5357 formed in the case 530 isblocked by the cap 550. The second overflow portion 5357 may be disposedon a direct rear side of the second siphon section S2 away from theanti-scattering part 551 to discharge the conditioner aqueous solutionwhich has not been discharged through the second siphon section S2 tothe tub 700. In order to allow the conditioner aqueous solution to befirst discharged through the second siphon section S2 and subsequentlydischarged to the second overflow part 5357, the second overflow part5357 may be formed to be higher than a height of an upper end of thesecond column 5353 where the siphon effect acts in the second siphonsection S2. Accordingly, a lowermost end portion of the second overflowpart 5357 may be disposed to be higher than a height of the uppersurface of the second column 5353. For example, the lowermost endportion of the second overflow part 5357 and the upper surface of thefirst column 5333 (to which the principle of the siphon is applied) mayhave a difference in height of approximately 2 mm.

The detergent container 500 may include a guide recess 539 for thedetergent container 500 to be drawn to the detergent container receivingunit 420 of the front panel 400.

The guide recess 539 may be formed on both side surfaces of the case 530and extend in the forward/backward direction. Guide protrusion 425 (seeFIG. 12) of the detergent container receiving unit 420 (to be describedlater) may be fastened to the guide recess 539 so that the detergentcontainer 500 may be maintained in a state of being drawn in thedetergent container receiving unit 420. In detail, a detergent containerarresting part 5392 may be formed at one point of the guide recess 539.The detergent container arresting part 5392 may be caught by a hook 426formed on the guide protrusion 425 so as to be elastically coupled.

A front end portion of the guide recess 539 may have a size and shapecorresponding to the guide protrusion 425 such that a drawn-in state ofthe detergent container 500 is maintained by the detergent containerarresting part 5392 and the guide protrusion 425. Also, a rear endportion of the guide recess 539 may be larger than the front end portionof the guide recess 539 so that the guide protrusion 425 may be guidedtoward the center of the guide recess 539. Accordingly, when thedetergent container 500 is drawn to the detergent container receivingunit 420, the guide protrusion 425 may smoothly enter the guide recess539.

A concave part 537 may be formed on a lower surface of the case 530 sothat the case 530 may be drawn in or out without interference from afront panel fastening part 309 (see FIG. 12) and a cover fastening part(see FIG. 12) respectively provided in the detergent container loadingport 304 and the detergent container receiving unit 420. Details of thefront panel fastening part 309 and a cover fastening part 428 will bedescribed hereinafter with reference to FIG. 12.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the cover and the front panelof FIG. 4, and FIG. 13 is a view illustrating a rear surface of thefront panel of FIG. 6.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, the detergent container loading port 304is formed at an upper portion of the cover 300 so that the detergentdispenser 500 may be drawn into and out from the upper portion of thecover 300.

An upper portion of the detergent container loading port 304 protrudesforward to corresponds to a shape of a rear surface of the door 2000,and a central portion of the detergent container loading port 304 mayhave a sloped shape depressed backwards. A front part mounting recess305 on which the front part 510 of the detergent container 500 ismounted may be formed near the detergent container loading port 304.Since the detergent container 500 is drawn in to the detergent containerloading port 304 and the front part 510 is mounted on the front partmounting recess 305, the front part 510 may form part of a front surfaceof the cover 300. Accordingly, an upper side 5101 of the front part 510protrudes to be further sloped to the front surface, relative to a lowerside 5103 of the front part 510, to correspond to the shape of the cover300, and, as a result, the front part 510 may have a shape with a bentportion 5102 extending in a circumferential direction between the upperside 5101 and the lower side 5103.

The detergent container receiving unit 420 provided in the front panel400 may be formed to correspond to a position of the detergent containerloading port 304. The detergent container receiving unit 420 may includea housing 421 forming a receiving space for the detergent container 500,a detergent container gasket fixing rib 423 protruding from the frontsurface of the housing 421 and allowing the detergent container gasket430 to be fixed thereto, and guide protrusions 425 formed on both innerside surfaces of the housing 421 and guiding introduction and withdrawalof the detergent container 500.

The housing 421 may have a shape corresponding to a shape of thedetergent container 500 and particularly in the form of enclosing theside surface of the detergent container 500. An inlet of the housing 421may have a sloped shape such that an upper portion thereof protrudesforward so as to correspond to the shape of the rear surface of the door200, like the shape of the detergent container loading port 304.

The detergent container gasket fixing rib 423 protrudes forward from afront edge of the detergent container receiving unit 420.

The detergent container gasket fixing rib 423 is coupled (e.g., coupledby fitting) to the detergent container gasket 430 to provide a fixingbase for the detergent container gasket 430.

The detergent container gasket fixing rib 423 may have a plurality ofslits 424 elongated in a forward/backward direction. Here, the slits 424are arranged in the detergent container fixing rib 423 and spaced apartfrom each other at a predetermined interval in a horizontal direction ofthe detergent container gasket fixing rib 423.

When the detergent container gasket 430 is coupled or assembled to thedetergent container gasket fixing rib 423, a fixing rib 433 of thedetergent container gasket 430 are inserted into the slit 424 of thedetergent container gasket fixing rib 423. This relatively increasesfrictional area based on contact, and thus, a fixing force between thedetergent container gasket 430 and the detergent container gasket fixingrib 423 is increased.

The guide protrusion 425 may have a hook 426 which may be caught by thedetergent container arresting part 5392 to be elastically coupledthereto when the guide protrusion 425 climbs over the detergentcontainer arresting part 5392 of the guide recess 539 of the detergentcontainer 500 and is subsequently stopped in case where the detergentcontainer 500 is inserted into the detergent container receiving unit420, as described above. As the hook 426 of the guide protrusion 425 iscaught by the detergent container arresting part 5392 of the guiderecess 539, the detergent container 500 drawn into the inner side of thehousing 421 may be stopped and maintained stopped. Conversely, when theuser pulls the handle 502 of the detergent container 500 by a forcestronger than an elastic coupling force between the hook 426 and thedetergent container arresting part 5392 to separate the detergentcontainer 500 maintained in the stopped state, the detergent container500 may be drawn out from the detergent container receiving unit 420.

In addition, the front panel 400 may be provided with an opening 460protruding forward from the front panel 400 and having an annular shape.The opening 460 may be formed at a position in which a lower end portionof the detergent container receiving unit 420 protrudes forward from alower side of the detergent container receiving unit 420.

The opening 460 may include an annular end portion 462 formed at an endportion of the opening 460. Since the annular end portion 462 has adiameter smaller than that of the opening 460 and protrudes from the endportion of the opening 460, the annular end portion 462 has a step in adirection perpendicular to the direction in which the annular endportions 462 protrudes.

When the door gasket 450 is installed in the opening 460, the doorgasket 450 may receive a relatively high supporting force due to theannular end portion 462 of the opening portion 460 and the step thereof.

In the cover 300 and the front panel 400, the front panel fastening part309 may be formed at a lower central portion of the detergent containerloading port 304 and the cover fastening part 428 may be formed at alower central portion of the detergent container receiving unit 420,respectively, for coupling to each other. The front panel fastening part309 and the cover fastening part 428 are formed to protrude convexlyfrom the detergent container loading port 304 and the detergentcontainer receiving unit 420, respectively, and a fastening recess (notshown) allowing a fastening member (such as a bolt for instance) may beprovided. Here, the detergent container 500 may have a concave part 537formed on a lower surface of the case 530 to correspond to the convexlyprotruding shape of the front panel fastening part 309 and the coverfastening part 428. Thus, when the detergent container 500 is drawn intothe detergent container loading port 304 and the detergent containerreceiving unit 420, the detergent container 500 may be drawn in or out,without interferring with the front panel fastening part 309 and thecover fastening part 428.

Referring to FIG. 13, the front panel 400 may have a guide hole 530guiding wash water discharged from the case 530 to the tub 700 andhaving a bottom surface formed to be spaced apart from the lower surfaceof the case 530 by a predetermined distance. The door gasket 450 coupledto the opening 460 of the front panel 400 may have a guide rib 452guiding wash water guided by the guide hole 429 to the side of theopening 460.

The door gasket 450 has a ring shape, while the guide rib 452 is formedin an arch-shaped roof-form present only in the upper region of the doorgasket 450. At both ends of the guide rib 452, an open region is formedin which water drops toward the tub 700.

The guide hole 429 is formed on a lower surface of the detergentcontainer receiving unit 420, and the lower surface of the detergentcontainer receiving unit 420 may be separated from the case 530 of thedetergent container 500, in a state in which the detergent container 500is drawn in the detergent container receiving unit 420. Due to thedifference in height therebetween, the guide hole 429 supplying washwater discharged from the first outlet 5332 and the second outlet 5352to the tub 700 may be formed.

The guide rib 452 serves to guide washing water guided by the guide hole429 to the tub 700.

Here, the guide rib 452 may be positioned behind a rearmost end of thedoor glass 280 provided in the door 200.

Also, the guide rib 452 is formed in an upper region of the door gasket450 and, as a result, the guide rib 452 may be spaced apart from therear surface of the front panel 400 by a predetermined distance.

Thus, the wash water discharged to the guide hole 429 may flow to theinner side of the tub 700 along the guide rib 452. However, the guiderib 452 may be located at the same position as those of the firstoverflow part 5337 and the second overflow part 5357 or behind the firstoverflow part 5337 and the second overflow part 5357. Thus, wash waterdischarged from the first overflow part 5337 and the second overflowpart may be discharged directly to the tub 700, without passing throughthe guide hole 429 and the guide rib 452. Due to the presence of theguide ribs 452, a detergent or a conditioner dissolved in the wash watermay be prevented from being applied to the door glass 280.

In summary, the wash water discharged through the first siphon sectionS1 or the second siphon section S2 may be discharged to the guide hole429 and the wash water discharged to the guide hole 429 may be guided tothe inner side of the tub along the guide rib 452.

FIG. 14 is a view illustrating a detergent container gasket according toan embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 15 illustrates a rearsurface of the detergent container gasket of FIG. 14.

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the detergent container gasket 430 towhich the front part 510 of the detergent container 500 is tightlyattached is coupled to a front surface of the detergent containerreceiving unit 420, the detergent container gasket 430 may be pressed bythe cover 300 so as to be fixed to the detergent container receivingunit 420. That is, the detergent container gasket 430 may be tightlyattached to the case 530 to prevent any water leakage from watersupplied to the detergent container 500.

In more detail, the detergent container gasket 430 may include a body431 surrounding the inlet of the detergent container receiving unit 420and a fixing groove 432 formed on a rear surface of the body 431 andallowing the detergent container gasket fixing rib 423 to be insertedtherein.

Also, the detergent container gasket 430 includes a first waterproofprotrusion 435 protruding from an inner surface of the body 431 along acircumference of the body 431 and brought into contact with acircumference of the detergent container 500 and a second waterproofprotrusion 437 protruding from a front surface of the body 431 along thecircumference of the body 431 and pressed by a blocking rib 312.

Also, the detergent gasket 430 may include a third waterproof protrusion439 protruding from an outer surface of the body 431 along thecircumference of the body 431 and pressed by a support ribs 314.

Since the body 431 is coupled to the detergent container gasket fixingrib 423 of the detergent container loading port 304, an upper portion ofthe body 431 may have a shape sloped forward to correspond to a slope ofthe detergent container loading port 304 and the inlet of the housing421.

The fixing groove 432 may be provided with the fixing rib 433 which maybe inserted into the slit 424 formed in the detergent container gasketfixing rib 423. As the fixing rib 433 is inserted into the slit 424, thedetergent container gasket 430 may be fixed to the detergent containergasket fixing rib 423 with a stronger fixing force.

The first waterproof protrusion 435 may be formed such that a sectionalarea thereof is narrower toward an end portion thereof to be in linecontact with the detergent container 500. In a state in which thedetergent container 500 is drawn in the detergent container receivingunit 420, the first waterproof protrusion 435 may be tightly attached tothe circumference of the case 530 and may be in line contact with thedetergent container 500 to be fixed. In detail, the first waterproofprotrusion 435 is in line contact with the case 530 at a positionadjacent to the front end portion of the case 530 in which the case 530is inserted into the case insertion part 513 formed in the front part510. Such line contact reduces adherence of detergent or foreign mattersuch as cloth, as compared with a surface-contact type detergentcontainer, and occurrence of water leaks may be reduced as detection ofa foreign matter is reduced.

The second waterproof protrusion 437 may protrude forward along thecircumference of the detergent gasket 430 and may be tightly attachedand pressed to a rear surface of the blocking rib 312 of the cover 300.Also, the third waterproof protrusion 439 may protrude along thecircumference of an outer surface of the detergent container gasket 430and may be tightly attached and pressed to the inner surface of thesupport rib 314. The blocking rib 312 and the support rib 314 will bedescribed hereinafter in with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a configuration in which the door,the cover, and the front panel of FIG. 4 are coupled, taken along lineA-A′, and FIG. 17 is an enlarged view of the circle “D” of FIG. 16.

The cover 300 may include the blocking rib 312 forming the detergentcontainer loading port 304 through which the detergent container 500 isdrawn in and out and the support rib 314 extending backward from theblocking rib 312.

The blocking ribs 312 may be sloped to be parallel with a rear surfaceof the front part 510 and may be disposed between the rear surface ofthe front part 510 and the detergent container gasket 430 to preventexposure of a front side of the detergent container gasket 430.

The support rib 314 may extend backward from the blocking ribs 312 topress on a circumference of the detergent container gasket 430.

That is, the blocking rib 312 may press on the front side of thedetergent container gasket 430 and the support rib 314 may press on thecircumference of the detergent container gasket 430.

Accordingly, the detergent container gasket 430 may be coupled to theinlet of the detergent container receiving unit 420 and tightly attachedto the detergent container 500, the blocking rib 312, and the supportrib 314 to thereby prevent water supplied to the detergent container 500from leaking to a front side of the detergent container receiving unit420.

The wall-mounted washing machine, the detergent container of thewall-mounted washing machine, and the front panel of the wall-mountedwashing machine according to the embodiments of the present disclosurehave an advantage in that detergent and conditioner may be supplied bysimply drawing in or out the detergent container once.

Also, the detergent container may be easily drawn in and out by theuser.

Although the wall-mounted washing machine, the detergent container ofthe wall-mounted washing machine, and the front panel of thewall-mounted washing machine according to example embodiments of thepresent disclosure are described above with reference to theaccompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand that thepresent disclosure may be implemented in various ways without changingthe necessary features or the spirit of the present disclosure.Therefore, it should be understood that the example embodimentsdescribed above are not limiting, but only an example in all respects.The scope of the present disclosure is expressed by claims below, notthe detailed description, and it should be construed that all changesand modifications achieved from the meanings and scope of claims andequivalent concepts are included in the scope of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wall-mounted washing machine, comprising: arear panel operable to be wall-mounted; a tub disposed on a frontsurface of the rear panel and operable to contain wash water; a drumrotatably disposed in the tub; a front panel having an opening anddisposed on a front side of the tub; a cover covering the front panel; adetergent container selectively drawn into the front panel from a frontside of the cover and drawn out to the front side of the cover from thefront panel, wherein the detergent container comprises a detergent inputspace for accommodating detergent and a conditioner input space foraccommodating conditioner; a door rotatably coupled to the cover toselectively open and close a laundry inlet of the cover; and a cabinetsurrounding the tub, wherein: the detergent container comprises: a caseforming the detergent input space and the conditioner input space; a capcoupled to an upper side of the case and comprising: an inlet of thedetergent input space; and an inlet of the conditioner input space; anda front part coupled to a front surface of the case and providing ahandle.
 2. The wall-mounted washing machine of claim 1, wherein the casecomprises: a first part forming the detergent input space; and a secondpart forming the conditioner input space, wherein the first part and thesecond part are partitioned by a partition and arranged in a horizontaldirection.
 3. The wall-mounted washing machine of claim 1, furthercomprising: a water supply valve assembly disposed in the front paneland operable to receive wash water from a water supply, wherein thefront panel is provided with a detergent container receiving unit intowhich the detergent container is drawn, and wherein further: a firstfitting operable to provide wash water from the water supply valveassembly to the detergent input space and a second fitting operable toprovide wash water from the water supply valve assembly to theconditioner input space are connected to an upper side of the detergentcontainer receiving unit.
 4. The wall-mounted washing machine of claim3, wherein: detergent introduced to the detergent input space isdissolved in the wash water supplied through the first fitting anddischarged to an inner side of the tub through a first outlet formed ona bottom surface of the case, and conditioner introduced to theconditioner input space is dissolved in the wash water supplied throughthe second fitting and discharged to the inner side of the tub through asecond outlet formed on the bottom surface of the case.
 5. Thewall-mounted washing machine of claim 4, wherein: a guide hole isprovided on the front panel and is operable to guide wash waterdischarged from the case to the tub, and the guide hole is spaced apartfrom the bottom surface of the case by a predetermined distance.
 6. Thewall-mounted washing machine of claim 5, further comprising: a doorgasket coupled to the opening of the front panel, and a guide ribdisposed in the door gasket and operable to guide wash water guided bythe guide hole to the side of the opening.
 7. The wall-mounted washingmachine of claim 6, wherein the guide rib is spaced apart from a rearsurface of the front panel by a predetermined distance and is disposedin an upper region of the door gasket.
 8. The wall-mounted washingmachine of claim 1, further comprising: a detergent container loadingport disposed in the cover, and a detergent container receiving unitdisposed in a position of the front panel corresponding to the detergentcontainer loading port and operable to allow the detergent container tobe selectively drawn therein and drawn out therefrom.
 9. Thewall-mounted washing machine of claim 8, wherein: the cover comprises ashape wherein a central portion thereof is depressed backward tocorrespond to a shape of a rear surface of the door, and the front partcomprises a bent portion corresponding to a shape of a front surface ofthe cover.
 10. The wall-mounted washing machine of claim 9, wherein: thefront part comprises a shape wherein an upper side thereof protrudesforward, relative to a lower side thereof, and the detergent containerhandle is disposed at the center of the front part.
 11. The wall-mountedwashing machine of claim 8, wherein: the front part has an area largerthan an area of the front surface of the case, and a front part mountingrecess is formed near the detergent container loading port of the coverad is operable to allow the front part to be mounted therein, and whenthe detergent container is drawn in, the front part forms part of afront surface of the cover.
 12. The wall-mounted washing machine ofclaim 8, further comprising: a front panel fastening part and a coverfastening part disposed in a lower central portion of the detergentcontainer loading port and a lower central portion of the detergentcontainer receiving unit, respectively, to couple the cover and thefront panel; and a concave part, having a shape corresponding to thefront panel fastening part and the cover fastening part, disposed on alower surface of the case.
 13. The wall-mounted washing machine of claim8, further comprising: guide recesses disposed on both side surfaces ofthe case and extending in a forward/backward direction; and guideprotrusions disposed in the detergent container receiving unit andinserted into the guide recesses to guide a forward/backward movement ofthe case.
 14. The wall-mounted washing machine of claim 13, wherein arear end portion of the guide recess is formed to be wide wherein theguide protrusion is guided toward the center of the guide recess, andfurther comprising: a hook for elastic coupling disposed at one point ofthe guide protrusion; and a detergent container arresting part disposedat one point of the guide recess to catch the hook therein.
 15. Adetergent container of a wall-mounted washing machine to be drawn in orout from a detergent container receiving unit in a front panel of thewall-mounted washing machine, the detergent container comprising: a casecomprising a first part in which a detergent input space is formed, asecond part in which a conditioner input space is formed, and apartition partitioning the first part and the second part; a cap coupledto an upper side of the case to cover portions of the first part and thesecond part and comprising an inlet of the detergent input space and aninlet of the conditioner input space; and a front part coupled to afront surface of the case and comprising a handle.
 16. The detergentcontainer of claim 15, further comprising: a first outlet disposed on alower surface of the first part to discharge a detergent aqueoussolution in which a detergent of the detergent input space is dissolved,to a tub; a second outlet disposed on a lower surface of the second partto discharge a conditioner aqueous solution in which a conditioner ofthe conditioner input space is dissolved, to the tub; a first overflowpart disposed on a rear surface of the first part to discharge adetergent aqueous solution, which has not been discharged through thefirst outlet, to the tub; and a second overflow part disposed on a rearsurface of the second part to discharge a conditioner aqueous solution,which has not been discharged through the second outlet, to the tub. 17.The detergent container of claim 15, further comprising: a guide recessdisposed on a side surface of the case to allow a guide protrusionprovided in the front panel to be inserted thereto; a rear end portionof the guide recess formed to be wide to guide the guide protrusiontoward a center of the guide recess; and a detergent container arrestingpart formed at one point of the guide recess to catch one point of theguide protrusion.
 18. A front panel comprising a detergent containerreceiving unit for receiving the detergent container according to claim15, wherein the front panel is part of an assembly and wherein theassembly comprises: a cover coupled to a front surface of the frontpanel; a detergent container gasket tightly attached to a front part ofthe detergent container and coupled to a front surface of the detergentcontainer receiving unit; and a guide protrusion formed on an inner sidesurface of the detergent container receiving unit and inserted into aguide recess formed on a side surface of the detergent container. 19.The front panel of claim 18, wherein: a guide hole is provided to guidewash water discharged from the detergent container to a tub, and theguide hole is spaced apart from a bottom surface of the detergentcontainer by a predetermined distance.
 20. The front panel of claim 19,wherein: a door gasket is coupled to an opening for introducing laundrytherethrough, a guide rib is disposed in the door gasket to guide washwater guided by the guide hole to the side of the opening, and the guiderib is spaced apart from a rear surface of the front panel and disposedin an upper region of the door gasket.